The host nation entered the gold-medal game at the 2026 IIHF World Championship without a loss. But with just one defeat themselves, Aatu Räty and Team Finland were hardly underdogs.

Finland’s only defeat of the tournament had come at the hands of Switzerland during the preliminary round, so the stage was set for a tightly contested rematch with gold on the line. And that’s exactly what unfolded.

Neither side could solve the opposing netminder through 60 minutes, with a defensive chess match forcing overtime to determine the champion.

The Finns did think they had broken the deadlock midway through the opening period when Anton Lundell swatted a bouncing puck out of mid-air and past Swiss goaltender Leonardo Genoni. After review, however, officials deemed Lundell’s stick was above the crossbar, keeping the game scoreless.

From there, chances were hard to come by, and both teams leaned heavily on their structure and goaltending. It took overtime before the tournament finale found its golden moment, and just over halfway through the extra frame, Buffalo Sabres prospect Konsta Helenius delivered the golden goal.

Collecting the puck along the boards, Helenius protected it well as he cut toward the middle of the ice. After slipping past his defender, the 21-year-old snapped a shot over Genoni’s shoulder to secure Finland’s fifth World Championship gold medal and first since 2022.

Räty was relatively quiet offensively in the final, recording no points and no shots on goal while logging 14:14 of ice time. He did, however, dominate in the faceoff circle, winning 15 of his 18 draws for an impressive 83.3 percent success rate. His lone blemish on the scoresheet was a minor penalty.

The Vancouver Canucks prospect finished the tournament with seven points (four goals, three assists) in 10 games, along with 10 penalty minutes, 15 shots on goal, and a plus-four rating. He averaged 13:49 of ice time per game and ranked fourth among all tournament skaters with a 64.39 percent faceoff win rate.